The transferable married couples allowance is worth up to £900 over the last four years, yet HMRC estimate that as many as 1 million eligible couples have not made a claim.
The allowance is available for married couples and civil partnerships where one person earns less than the personal allowance (£11,850 in 2018/19) and the other is a basic rate taxpayer. The lower earning spouse or civil partner can then transfer 10% of their personal allowance to the other.
Couples can make a claim now for 2018/19 which is worth £238 and this would usually be paid by adjusting the PAYE code of the higher earning spouse.
Claims can be backdated to April 2015 and are worth £212 for 2015/16, £220 for £2016/17 and £230 for 2017/18. Repayments for these earlier years are usually made by cheque or directly into a bank account.
Claims can be made online at www.gov.uk/marriage-allowance/how-to-apply. Once you’ve made a claim this is automatically renewed the following tax year although of course you must remember to notify HMRC if your circumstances change.
